“I became ashamed about being gay, about being sexually attractive and about having sexual desires. It was like going back into the closet.”David, 27

Introduction

MostLGBTIQrelationshipsarebuiltonloveandrespect. Somearebuiltonabuseandcontrol.Abuseandcontrolinarelationshipisdomestic and family violence.

This websiteisfor LGBTIQ people in relationshipswhoareormaybeexperiencingdomestic and family violence.Itcontainsinformationonwhatdomestic and family violenceis,whattodoifyouareexperiencing abuse, suggestions on makingasafetyplan,anddetailsforsomereferraloptions in NSW. Italsohasinformationforsupportingafriendorfamilymemberwhoisexperiencingabuse.

This website focuses on domestic and family violence issues for people in LGBTIQ relationships.

Definitions

On this website we use the acronym LGBTIQ to refer collectively and inclusively to people of diverse sexualities, and genders, and intersex people. This includes people who may or may not identify as LGBTIQ or as being in an exclusively same-sex, bisexual, pansexual or heterosexual relationship.

Another Closet aims to use inclusive language that is respectful of the diverse ways in which a person may identify their gender, sexuality, lived body experience and relationships.

To assist readers in understanding the terminology used on this website and for people who may want to find a language to work with LGBTIQ communities, short, non-exclusive definitions of key words are provided below.

More information can be found in the National LGBTI Health Alliance’s factsheet ‘Inclusive Language Guide: Respecting People of Intersex, Trans and Gender Diverse Experience’ at www.lgbtihealth.org.au.

Intersex: An umbrella term used to describe people who have natural physical variations that differ from conventional ideas about ‘female’ or ‘male’ bodies. Intersex people may identify as a woman or man, or any other gender identity. Intersex is not a sexual orientation.

Cisgender: When a person is cisgender, they identify as the gender that matches the sex that they were assigned at birth. A transgender woman is a person who was assigned male at birth but who identifies as a female, while a cisgender woman is a person who was assigned female at birth and identifies as female.

Queer: Used as an umbrella term encompassing people whose gender and/or sexual identity does not fit within the ‘norm’.

Sistergirl: may be used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to describe male-assigned people who live partly or fully as women.

Brotherboy: may be used by some Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples to describe female-assigned people who live partly or fully as men.

Transgender and Gender Diverse:The term transgender (or trans) is an umbrella term referring to people whose gender identity is different to what was assumed at birth, a transgender person may identify as specifically transgender or simply as male or female, or outside of these binaries. Gender diverse is also an umbrella term that acknowledges the many different ways people may identify their gender; examples include agender, gender fluid, non-binary and genderqueer. Gender identity is not a sexual orientation.